The way British Gas engineers deal with elderly customers has been called into question this week by the relatives of two women — one of whom was left without heating for 17 days in January — and another who endured six weeks without hot water and was then overcharged for a replacement boiler.

Both women relied on British Gas to get their boiler working after their old ones broke down. However, both, say their relatives, were badly let down by the company that advertises itself as "doing the right thing" and "committed to service excellence".

British Gas denies it overcharged vulnerable customers or that the separate incidents show a more widespread disregard for elderly customers. But it admits it made mistakes and caused unnecessary distress and following the intervention of Jobs & Money has agreed to pay some compensation.

Doris Hill, who is 80 and lives alone in Llanfyllin, in Powys, South Wales, was left without any heating for over two weeks in January while engineers tried to find parts for her boiler. She had a Home Care policy for which she paid £152 a year (as part of a bigger package costing £303) that promised to immediately fix her boiler in the event of a break down. The engineer came out promptly but said he had to go away to find the correct part. He returned the next day to say that he was still trying to source one and would be in contact.

After two weeks, she assumed the worst and called in a local contractor who replaced her boiler instantly at a cost of £1,500. Only after the work was done did the British Gas engineer return with a date to complete the repair.

Doris Hill's son, Bob, who has since demanded compensation on his mother's behalf says: "I find it incredible that an engineer would spend so long looking for parts in the knowledge that an 80-year-old woman would be without heating in the middle of January. My mother said the engineer was very nice about it all and was trying to do his best but their treatment of her was unacceptable. I've written a strong letter of complaint to the company and also know that she has now cancelled the policy. But so far, British Gas has refused to acknowledge that its systems failed, or to offer any explanation."

Her case is more than matched by that of Joyce Gordon. Mrs Gordon, who lived in Ramsgate in Kent, sadly died in February following a short illness, and her treatment at the hands of British Gas only came to light when her niece, Jan Watson, was going through her effects with a view to establishing probate.

Along with a bundle of paperwork, Ms Watson found a letter of complaint penned by her aunt and addressed to the engineer who had dealt with her. "My aunt, who was in her mid-70s, contacted British Gas last summer when her boiler stopped producing hot water. Wanting the matter resolved quickly she asked them to replace the boiler. A quote was provided and date set for the work to start.

"The problem was that the man who turned up on August 9 took one look at it and said it was two-man job and left. My aunt spent the next few weeks trying to find out when he would return to do the work that was set out in the contract." In fact Mrs Gordon, who also lived alone, had to wait a further six weeks (on top of the month she'd already spent) without any hot water. The boiler was installed ten days later but the electrician didn't complete the work until September 20 — and then only after she had made several calls to find out what was happening.

"When I looked at the price of the work I couldn't believe it," said Ms Watson. "British Gas charged my aunt £3,151 to install an inefficient D-rated boiler that probably wasn't the most appropriate one for her needs. She'd had a standard boiler complete with hot water tank in the loft, but the engineer had recommended and installed a combination boiler which involved the expensive removal of the tank and pipework. It seems a very odd choice given that British Gas is promoting condenser boilers heavily at the moment, which are both more efficient and would have been a better choice for my aunt.

"I was also amazed at the total because I had our boiler replaced and it only cost £2,500 — and that included four new radiators and a host of other fittings. My parents had completed a similar job two months before my aunt's and their bill was only £1,574. It looks as though British Gas took advantage of her vulnerability and sold her the most expensive option," says Ms Watson.

The final straw for Mrs Gordon came when the engineers removed the false ceiling in the room where the boiler was situated, but refused to re-instate it afterwards without extra payment on the grounds that the work had not been in the original contract. "Her last few days were spent staring at the roof through the drafty hole in the ceiling," her niece says.

However, the thing that incensed her niece was the fact that British Gas signed her aunt up to a loan to pay for the work that offered six months interest free, but carried an interest rate of 26%. "It must have been obvious that my aunt was not wealthy and could not pay it off at the end of the interest free period, but British Gas offered her a loan that would have added a further £2,800 to cost of the boiler.

"It is absolutely outrageous they are signing up customers at such a high loan rate. On its own website the company offers unsecured loans at 6.2% APR — what is the possible justification of offering [boiler] loans at 26%?"

"I am so angry about this. When I was going through my aunt's papers I found British Gas leaflets talking about the how it is committed to "service excellence". I feel my aunt was treated appallingly by a company she put her trust in," says Ms Watson.

British Gas replies

In response, British Gas says:

"We install more than 90,000 central heating systems each year, and in the vast majority of cases we reach a level of service that people would expect from a brand they trust.

"Although there are many reputable independent builders and tradesmen, our TV schedules are filled with horror stories about rogue traders ripping off or even endangering consumers — a company like British Gas gives consumers peace of mind that they will always do the right thing and rectify any mistakes.

"Our prices are based on this — being a brand customers can trust. Unfortunately in this case we fell well short and we are extremely disappointed. In view of this unacceptable level of service we will reduce the bill by £500 as a gesture of goodwill.

"We have arranged for Mrs Gordon's estate to be given more time to settle the out­standing balance without incurring interest charges.

"The buy now pay later offer gave her a full nine months of interest free credit. 92% of customers pay off the balance before the nine months and our staff receive no incentive for selling this finance option.

"In the case of Mrs Hill, when we last serviced her boiler we said her boiler had some parts on the reduced availability list. As her boiler was almost 20 years old we offered to quote her for a new one — this was declined.

"When it stopped in January we had an engineer with her in less than two hours.

"Because of her age the engineer called back in person the next day to explain that a part would be ordered and offered her temporary heat sources — we will do this for all vulnerable customers who have no heat due to a breakdown.

"Where we failed, and what we will be looking into, was why her ordered part was not flagged as urgent as we would for a vulnerable customer.

"The delay in arranging a second appointment for Mrs Hill was unacceptable, and for this we apologise. As a business we are keen to learn from our mistakes and this case will be reviewed to ensure this does not happen again.

"As a gesture of goodwill we will refund the £303 — not just the £152 for the central heating cover."